Advice for budget trip planning

[Tezz]

Hi all

(first post be gentle!)

My 4 year old daughter is disney mad and after one of her friends has been to disneyland paris she has set her heart on going and meeting all the Princesses etc.

I had 2 young children (4 and 2 year old) and would like some advice of booking for people on a pretty tight budget. A few questions i would like to ask are.

What is a good length of stay? 3 nights? 2 nights? 4 nights?
What is the cheapest way of getting to disneyparis from manchester? the reason i ask this is for 2 or 3 nights at the current off for hotel and park passes it costs approx £400 -£450 which isnt too bad but if you book train via the site the price almost doubles to £700 :S.
Food wise is it better to take the food package while there?

and any other advise is greatly appreciated i was planning on driving over on the ferry but not sure on the journey france side as i have never driven in europe before.

thanks in advance.

 

[jothp]

Hi we have driven for all our trips and have found it to be fine. We use tesco clubcard vouchers to book a crossing on Eurotunnel to save money. The drive the other side takes around three hours and is fairly straightforward but be aware there are toll roads and it will cost about E20 each way.

Coming from Manchester you might want to find a cheap overnight hotel near the ferry/eurotunnel port then get an early crossing in the morning.

 

[jothp]

I forgot to mention that the advantage of driving is that you can stock the car up with drinks which can be very expensive to buy in the parks.

 

[micksn]

The transport inclusive offers are always a lot more than booking transport seperately. I would look at easyjet flights from Manchester, remember the earlier you book the less you pay! You can then either get the VEA bus or a shared shuttle to the resort.

 

[mummybear]

We're not far from Manchester and we always drive. We stay over in Ashford the night before our booked Eurotunnel (which we also use Tesco Clubcard vouchers), so the next morning our 2 children are rested. We have done the whole journey in 1 go a couple of times, and for all of us, it was a bit much. As already said, by taking the car, you can stock up on supplies for when you're there. And also, with a 2yr old, it means you can take along a buggy, and ALL the other items a 2yr old requires (hence why we started driving there )

We have also flown. We went Easyjet from Liverpool, and had no problems.The first time we used the VEA shuttle, the next, we used RS Transports shuttle.

The prefered mode of transport though is definately driving. Hubby does all the driving, and he much prefers the 3 hour drive in France than the 5 hour drive here. The roads are much better to drive on and there seems to be very little in the way of roadworks (in the 2.5 years of driving only seen roadworks once, and even then, it was only "coned off" in the area they were working, not for 2 miles like on our motorways )

As for the amount of days, I think for your first time, I would go for as long as you can afford. If you can do 4 nights, I would do this.

If you want to make the holiday as cheap as poss, take snacks and drinks with you.

Would advise though, if you're going to drive, DVD players for the car are very helpful

 

[Rach78]

Hi,
We have driven three times, all the way from Scotland(!!), and we find it fine. I have a three year old and she has done the journey twice and been absolutely fine. We also use Tesco clubcard vouchers for either ferry or Eurotunnel. The Eurotunnel is slightly faster but I find the benefit of the ferry if you drive is a chance to stretch your legs for an hour rather then staying in your car on the Eurotunnel, plus the ferry is cheaper. I would advise paying for the food voucher and staying in a budget disney hotel (we always stay in the Cheyenne) then you know you have two meals a day sorted. Also you wont need to buy food or tickets for your 2 year old so ideal time to go before they turn 3 and you have to pay for them. Keep your eye on the website as offers change regularly. Check different dates for cheapest deals. If you are careful it really doesn't need to cost a fortune. Just got back with my 3 year old who loves the princesses and she was so happy to have met them all but especially Belle. It really is worth doing if you can, it is the best memories ever!!
Rach x

 

[Ware Bears]

Hi Tezz to the Disneyland Paris Trip Planning & Community Board.

Hoping you'll have lots of fun on here please join in with any thread or if you have any questions please start a new one of your own.

If you haven't had a look yet, the DLP DISboard posting rules are here and the DIS posting guidelines can be found here.

 

[Rachie B]

we also favour driving

we tend to stay near the tunnel the night before ( using a cheapy deal hotel) then use tesco clubcard deals for the eurotunnel

each way is E 20.40 in tolls on top of your fuel,but the drive is fab,easy and better motorways than in the UK !

as you have pre schoolers you can take advantage of the cheap(er) term time periods ,instead of expensive school holidays!

Happy planning
x

 

[Tezz]

Thanks for the replys guys.

Didnt realise clubcard points can be used for channel crossings thats good to know, we were going to go last year but felt a 1 year old wouldnt benefit fro mthe holiday but if i recall prices then and now they seem to be more expensive now? or is it just me?

 

[cap'njack.]

Another driver here
I always look at Norfolkline Ferry's...usually the cheapest although they go to Dunkerque instead of Calais which takes a little longer, the ferry is much quieter and the tolls are cheaper at €17.40
We like to take essentials with us an have kids meals at lunchtime and then a proper dinner (be that at Disney or cooked wherever we stay) another thing we do is take cup a pasta's/soups as a late night snack etc. Buying bottles of water at the shops in the Train Station saves another bundle of cash...even more if you take an hour or so to pop to the Supermarket